Morning Tribulation
by meekshallinherit
Summary: Getting to work on time isn't always easy. Good thing Audrey has someone (trying) to help.


_Just an idea that popped into my head that I thought could be fun to write. Hope someone enjoys it!_

_I do not own Little Shop of Horrors._

* * *

Seymour had never been much of a morning person. It wasn't that he was the sort of person that would get grouchy when they were woken up early. He was still pretty agreeable about everything, no matter what hour it was. He just wasn't particularly _alert_.

From the spot where she was craning her neck to look through the window, Audrey could just make him out as he trudged upstairs towards the ringing phone, his eyes not quite open and his hair still in a tangled nest of bed head. He stumbled into several things on his way, fumbled half-blindly for the receiver, and finally held it to his ear and mumbled a drowsy, "Hello?"

Audrey always found that sort of thing adorable, and normally would have smiled, but this morning she was far too stressed to be in any sort of good mood. "Seymour! I need to ask you something!"

Hearing her voice was enough to perk him up a little, though he still had to finish yawning before he could respond. "Audrey? Is everything alright?"

"Not exactly…" She sent a worried glance down at her wrist, and more importantly, the handcuffs around it that had made it almost impossible to even reach the phone, let alone get out the door. "I, uh… I'm dealing with something over here. I don't think I'm gonna be at work on time, and Mista' Mushnik's gonna be furious."

She could see Seymour reach up around his glasses to rub at his eyes, trying to pull himself awake enough to bring his vision into focus. "I think it's okay. I know he grumbles a lot, but I really don't think he minds that much."

"Not this time." She insisted. "He got real mad at me yesterday. 'Said if I couldn't get in on time today, I'd end up looking for another job."

_That_ was definitely enough to get him fully into being awake. "Are you sure he wasn't just blowing off steam?"

"I-I don't know. He seemed pretty serious." She replied with a noticeable tremor in her voice. "I know it's a lot to ask, but is there any way you can try and cover for me? Maybe just tell him I'm in the back or something?"

"Yeah, of course," Seymour said earnestly. "I'd be happy to."

"You're the greatest! I promise, I'm gonna be there as soon as I can!"

He considered asking if she knew what the rattling he kept hearing was, but she hung up before he got a chance to say any more.

* * *

Seymour didn't know if he could possibly be more nervous than the time when Mr. Mushnik walked into work that morning. His boss didn't say a word, and just glanced around the shop. Before Seymour could think of any reason to object, Mr. Mushnik had walked over to check in Audrey's work station, and then peeked into his office. Seymour felt his stomach sink as his boss walked back out again with a scowl on his face.

"So, I see someone couldn't make it in on time, _again_."

He'd been wrong. He could definitely get more nervous. But he had to do _something_! He couldn't possibly let Audrey lose her job!

"No, she got here already." Did he sound convincing when he said that? He didn't think so. But he was really, _really_ trying. "She's just, uh… on break."

"Really?" Mr. Mushnik asked flatly. "She's on break? Two minutes after opening time?"

He'd known that was a bad excuse the moment it left his mouth. Still, he did his best to meet his boss's eyes and look like he was unfazed about the whole thing. "Uh… Yes." Mr. Mushnik didn't look convinced. "She got here early, actually, She'd been working for awhile."

"Alright, let's say I buy that." Mr. Mushnik said, almost seeming to find some satisfaction in watching his employee squirm. "Where is she, exactly? Can't remember the last time she didn't spend her whole break with you."

His mind had nearly gone completely blank, but he _had_ to keep going. "She said she wanted some air. She went out to the back alley." With the way Mr. Mushnik was looking at him, Seymour was starting to feel very much like he was on trial.

"In the back alley? So if I go out there now and look, Audrey's actually going to be there?"

"Well…" He was left with his mind scrambling for a moment, but he was forced to snap back into action when he realized Mr. Mushnik was headed for the way out, and he hurriedly skidded over to place himself in the doorframe. "You can't go out there!"

Mr. Mushnik gave him an even more severe scowl. "And why not?"

"There's uh… there's a rat out there."

"Seymour, there's always rats out there."

"But this was a real big one! Real angry looking, too. And I think it looked kinda sick. It might 'a been rabid."

His boss folded his arms as he critically stared Seymour down.

"So Audrey's out in the back alley on a break?"

"Yes."

"And I can't go out there because of the rat."

"Uh-huh."

"So, that would mean that Audrey's just spending her break out there hanging around with angry and probably rabid vermin?"

"Uh…"

Mr. Mushnik rolled his eyes. "Audrey called you about what I told her, didn't she?"

Seymour was pretty sure he looked precisely the opposite of confident no matter how hard he tried, but he did his best. "Well…"

"Are you going to tell me the truth this time, or do I have to go out there and look?"

"I, uh… I don't know what you're talking about."

Mr. Mushnik briefly looked him up and down, as if sizing him up. "Alright then." He reached out to grab Seymour by the arms, lifted him up, and dropped him away from the door, all with an ease that made Seymour really wish he wasn't built like a twig.

"Okay, okay, okay! She hasn't been here yet!" He shouted desperately. "But it's not her fault this time! It's mine!"

"Oh, really? And how is it your fault?"

"Uh…" He found himself utterly failing to find anything to say. His boss always seemed so willing to think _everything_ was his fault that he wasn't expecting to have to provide an explanation. "Give me a second, I'll think of it."

Mr. Mushnik let out a very long, slow sigh. "Seymour, never try to commit a crime. You're a terrible liar." After a moment of watching his employee hang his head, he begrudgingly gestured in the direction of the phone. "Call Audrey back and tell her that her job is safe."

Seymour looked up at him again, his eyes lighting up. "Really?"

"Look, yesterday was a long day, and I may have lost my temper a little. Go tell her I'm not planning to fire her."

"Thank you Sir! Thank you so much!"

Mr. Mushnik was a little worried Seymour was going to race over and throw his arms around him. "Alright, alright, calm down. It's just because I know how mopey you'd get. And besides, she's more useful when she's not here than you are when you're around."

No matter what his boss said, no amount of criticism was going to dampen Seymour's spirits as he rushed over to the phone and dialed the number he knew without even needing to give it a second thought. "Hey, Audrey! Guess what!"

Mr. Mushnik shook his head as he let out another sigh. He would never quite understand those two. To look at them, he wouldn't think he could possibly imagine two people any more different. Yet somehow, they always seemed to get along like two peas in a pod. He just wished their similarities didn't extend to their level of usefulness at work.

Well, he supposed that it was the best he was going to get in a place like Skid Row. And though he'd never admit it, he did have a bit of a soft spot for the shop's floral arranger. Though of course, he didn't think anyone could possibly be as fond of her as Seymour obviously was. Whatever weird thing it was going on between his misfit employees, at least it seemed to make Audrey want to stay around. He would lose his mind if he didn't at least have _someone_ who could manage to get something accomplished without breaking anything.

What an existence he had…


End file.
